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JAMESTOWN, NY (WNY News Now) – Making responsible financial decisions is critical to maintaining a stable life, but unfortunately many struggle when it comes to balancing money. Now, Collaborative Children’s Solutions has joined forces with Southern Chautauqua Federal Credit Union to expand resources to reach young minds and instill responsibility.
The two have been collaborating for years now, but early this month, Southern Chautauqua Federal Credit Union officially became a signature sponsor of C.C.S and are looking forward to their future together.
“It’s a good partnership and that’s my goal is just to offer that opportunity through John and his incredible folks,” said owner of Collaborative Children’s Solutions Patrick Smeraldo. “They’ve been with us for a couple of years now, since our launch, and now they’ve come on board to be a signature sponsor and be involved in every project, not just the events but every project we do with Collaborative Children’s Solutions.”
The pair explain that as luck would have it, they crossed paths.
“Patrick and I met kind of by chance, we were interested in doing the Christmas Parade several years ago, I called the city and the city said ‘We’ll have someone get back to you’, and eventually Patrick was the one who got back to us. Eventually we started talking about different things, things that we could do for the community, and one thing led to another, to another, and now I am honored to be a major sponsor for Patrick. He’s making really good things happen in this county,” explained CEO of Southern Chautauqua Federal Credit Union John Felton.
The duo are seemingly elated to have the opportunity to collaborate to better the community.
“It means everything. Not only has John become a friend, but we’ve been a partner. And we toss things off of each other all the time, usually at 6 a.m texts when we’re both up, but he gets it. I think he understands children, which is really important to us and he offers kids opportunities. He’s been doing it way before we got involved with each other, and he’s always in front of a school,” said Smeraldo.
“I have been at this credit union for over 35 years and probably five years into my career I felt that I could make a difference in Chautauqua County. I felt that I could be a piece of the pie to help eradicate poverty, and yeah, Patrick came into my life and I am just thrilled because I really believe that good things are going to happen with our partnership,” said Felton.
The two are currently working on polishing pre-existing projects and brainstorming what’s next for the community. To track their progress and be notified of any upcoming events, you can follow Collaborative Children’s Solution on Facebook.
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